New African Tank - opinions please!

[Orange]

Thought I might show all of you my tank & fish. I have no idea what I have, if they are male or female or if they are compatible. I really want to learn though. I have a slow connection and it takes me forever to look at a couple of pics so I thought I would just post mine and maybe some of you could help me out. I am open to any suggestions even if my tank set up needs help let me know! (Sorry for the poor photography) Thanks!

My tank is a 56 gal, 30"wide 18"deep and 24"tall. I have a canister filter - Magnum 350. I have 7 fish: 1 orange, 1 blue, 1 peach??, 1 bright yellow, 1 dull yellow, a spotted raph (which I never see) and a small Jack Dempsey that I received by mistake.
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[woofy]

well it seems u have red zebra (the orange ones) , a yellow lab (yellw one duh) jack dempsey (last pic), yellow lab mix with auratus (5th pic) ,

 

[Marius]

When you get Africans you need to get more females than males, preferably 1/3 ratio. 55gal is good enough for a large group of one specie. You need to trade those in and get yourself a dozen of the Mbuna you like. If you like Red Zebras get a dozen of those, try to get 2-3 males and the rest females.

Otherwise, you'll either end up with hybrids, or they will just end up killing each other.

 

[woofy]

those are all mbunas except for the dempsey. Hes fine with what he has. if anything i would say get more mbunas to curb aggression. u dont need a good ratio unless u want to breed or want more of a specific type.

 

[Orange]

So, the 2 fish in the pic with the yellow lab are both zebras? How do I know if they are male or female?

 

[Orange]

The large zebra is about 3" and it is constantly digging deep holes in the sand under things. It is also the most agressive fish in the tank. Does that indicate male or female?

 

[Orange]

The yellow lab keeps itself wedged between the heater and the glass near the top of the tank. Is that normal behavior? I feel sorry for it.

 

[mike dunagan]

normal when they are stressed, not the best.

 

[Orange]

Well, I think I have identified the blue fish...
Pseudotropheus socolofi

but Im not sure if it is a male or female. It used to be the most agressvie fish in the tank until the zebra started to outgrow him and won in a lip locking fight. He came away with a scuffed up nose and a completely different attitude.

 

[woofy]

IMO ur stock is fine and th fish is stressed in the corner beucase there is one dominant fish tahts probably picking on the othrs. Its not beucase thy are different mbunas its just becuase you have one dominant fish. The jack dempsey is the only one that doesnt belong. I dont see why u would need to get a dozen of just on fish either. doesnt really make sense unless u wanted to breed them. Ur best bet would be to get a few more differen varieties of mbuna if youde like. Some here can suggest a few peacful mbunas that would e ok together in a 55g.

by any chace is the fish with the vertical stripes on the body the one being aggressive? he looks like he has some auratus in him (not a peacful mbuna) also for sexing most would agree venting is the only sure way